Madison Square Garden gets 10 years to find new location

By Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley, CNN

Updated 1:51 PM ET, Sun July 28, 2013

Photos: Madison Square Garden18 photos

Madison Square Garden – An aerial view shows the current Madison Square Garden in February 1968, soon after its completion. The Madison Square Garden Co. has been given 10 years to find a new venue as New York plans on renovating Penn Station, which sits below the Garden. Look back at some memorable events that have been hosted in the famous venue.

Madison Square Garden – The Rolling Stones perform in November 1969. The performance was recorded and released as a live album titled "Get Yer Ya Ya's Out."

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Photos: Madison Square Garden18 photos

Madison Square Garden – Janis Joplin performs her last concert with her Kozmic Blues Band on December 19, 1969.

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Photos: Madison Square Garden18 photos

Madison Square Garden – The Concert for Bangladesh takes place in August of 1971. Tanpura player Kamala Chakravarty, sitar player Ravi Shankar, tabla player Alla Rakha and sarod player Ali Akbar Khan perform.

Madison Square Garden – Wayne Gretzky's hat trick took the Rangers to victory over the Florida Panthers in April 1997.

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Photos: Madison Square Garden18 photos

Madison Square Garden – Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis fight their way to a draw in March 1999.

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Photos: Madison Square Garden18 photos

Madison Square Garden – Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy are among many performers who take the stage for "The Concert for New York" in October 2001.

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Photos: Madison Square Garden18 photos

Madison Square Garden – Balloons fall from the ceiling as President George W. Bush accepts the Republican nomination on the final night of the Republican National Convention in September 2004. It was the first time a Republican convention had been held in the arena.

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Photos: Madison Square Garden18 photos

Madison Square Garden – Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon perform during "From the Big Apple to the Big Easy," a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief, in September 2005.

Story highlights

New York City Council gives Madison Square Garden 10 years to find a new location

Some officials, groups want to renovate transit hub Penn Station located below it

MSG management just spent $1 billion to rehab the home of the Knicks, Rangers

The original Penn Station was razed in 1963, and the arena opened in 1968

Madison Square Garden, one of the world's iconic sports and entertainment arenas, has been given a decade to relocate after a vote by the New York City Council on Wednesday amid efforts to renovate the equally well-known Penn Station that sits below it.

The council voted to approve a "special permit" that will allow the arena to operate for 10 years while its management seeks to relocate, according to a news release.

The 47-1 vote comes after years of advocacy from city officials and independent groups who have sought to renovate and expand the bustling Pennsylvania Station. Madison Square Garden's 50-year land-use permit expired in January.

The original Penn Station, which featured Corinthian columns, vast hallways and glass ceilings, was demolished in 1963 to make way for the construction of the current Madison Square Garden, which opened in 1968.

"The approval of this permit offers us a great opportunity to reimagine and redevelop Penn Station as a world-class transportation destination and allow time to relocate Madison Square Garden to a new and improved home," Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Christine C. Quinn said in a statement.

In June, Quinn called for the creation of a "Commission for a 21st Century Penn Station," with the goal of helping to find a new Manhattan home for the arena and to renovate Penn Station.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had hoped for a 15-year permit, according to Julie Wood, spokeswoman for the mayor.

If Madison Square Garden does not find a new location, it will have to reapply for a permit once it expires.

Penn Station accommodates hundreds of thousands travelers per day, and the City Council says the Garden's placement above it is an "intractable problem."

"Imagine 220 mph bullet trains that sweep you to D.C. or Boston in 90 minutes or less. These plans are on the table, but they can only be realized with a modern, renovated Penn Station," said Manhattan Borough President and city comptroller candidate Scott M. Stringer. "That is not possible as long as the Garden sits squarely on top of the nation's busiest rail transit hub."

The arena's management did not go into the details of the vote, stating rather that it looks forward to its reopening this fall after a "three year, nearly billion dollar" renovation, according to Kimberly Kerns, spokeswoman for Madison Square Garden.

The Garden, home to the New York Knicks and Rangers, first opened its doors in 1879 but has since moved to several locations throughout the city, according to its website.

It has stood at its current Midtown Manhattan location since 1968 and hosted the famous "Fight of the Century" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1971.